@@fivewattworld Rick has always been a fountain of information/experience in his videos. After hearing your story, I have a new-found level of respect and appreciation for this man. He's a class act. Thanks for sharing Keith and Kudos to you Rick!!!
I read that when Randy Rhoads was on tour with Ozzie Osbourne he would seek out the best guitar teacher in each town and try to get a lesson to keep learning. The journey doesn't end.
Bliggick He also gave lessons backstage with his Gibson Les Paul and a Pig Nose Amp . No effects . He was enrolled in UCLA for the next quarter in classical guitar theory. What a loss !!!!
He would actually take classical guitar lessons at every chance he could. Sometimes he was even better than the teacher. Probably took guitar lessons too...
Victor Wooten, one of if not the best bass player alive today, does classes & workshops with the best in the business at his place...so he can learn, too. He's a really good dude. I like Victor 👍 There's a vid on here where he explains exactly why he started the 'Victor Wooten Center for Music & Nature'. If I could link it, I would. It's easy to find. It's called 'Victor Wooten plays and educates at the Reverb booth'. 👍 IIRC, I think Victor even has classes/lessons on Truefire, the guitar courses that Keith uses.
In 2004, after playing for 25 years I decided to take jazz lessons. Found an older guy in my town giving lessons and called him up. Went to his house every Tuesday at 11am. He would have me going through last week's lesson while he took a dump. I'd miss a note and he'd yell "I heard that" from the bathroom...LOL He was great. That structured Tuesday lesson kept me on track and I made big improvements.
I'm self-taught. I've been playing for 25 years with a few breaks in between. In the past year, every time I had the itch to buy a new pedal, I'd instead invest it in my guitar education. I'd buy books or get an online course to open up a new world I hadn't yet explored (like jazz). I even took some lessons from very well known and extremely respected guitarists. The experience was... terribly disappointing. The first guitarist I saw in person because we happen to live in the same city. After my lesson, I thought to myself, "He didn't teach me anything beyond what he's already talked about in RUclips interviews." Then about a month after the lesson, I heard him on a podcast where he said he hates doing in-person lessons and keeps jacking up his prices so that people will say no. I felt shitty after hearing that and he's lost a bit of my respect. The second lesson I had was over Skype. I was excited because this guitarist is also insanely talented, very well known and respected, etc. But because he's in Nashville and I'm not, it had to be over Skype. That's fine. I signed up for two lessons and in the first, he had me doing something I'd already learned when I was a teenager. But I thought, "Ok, there must be a reason why he's doing this, so I'll just go along with it." After the first lesson, I thought I'd wasted my time, but was hopeful for the next. So, the second lesson comes along (he completely forgot about it so I had to message him a few times to get him on Skype) and it's more of the same. It was "building" on the first lesson, but it was almost the exact same content. We never got to go over the things I wanted to learn about. Instead, he just taught what he wanted to teach. In the end, I probably would've been happier buying some new pedals or maybe even a NEW GUITAR than paying for those lessons. I did learn a very important lesson, though: An amazing and knowledgeable and famous guitarist doesn't make an amazing teacher, and great teachers are unfortunately hard to find.
I hear ya. I recently took a lesson from a well known guitarist that sounds similar to your experience. It was very expensive. But I figured what the hell, I had some xtra cash so since I loved the guys playing and it will be a learning experience in a different way. It sucked. He taught me a couple useful things but nothing I wasn’t already kind of working on. The bad part was that he was seemingly in a nasty mood like he didn’t want to be there and literally yelled at me a few times because I guess I didn’t “snap to” like I was in Boot Camp or something. Now it’s been a rough couple years for me,my house burned down, I had some health issues etc. so maybe I was overly sensitive or something but it was a horrible experience for me. We finished the lesson and later he actually apologized for “yelling” at me. But I’m too old for that shit. I said it’s fine and thanks. But that’s it , I’m done with him,can’t even listen to his music anymore. There are too many great,respectful teachers out there to waste time on some bitter neurotic that wishes he were somewhere else. When u said your man was raising his price so people wouldn’t call him anymore it piqued my curiosity. Anyway,sorry for the rant but it still pisses me off when I’m reminded of it.
Keith, I’m a 62 year old beginner, starting again after a 45 year break. My arsenal is a Squier Affinity Strat and an entry level Fender practice amp. Where I spend my money is for weekly lessons. My teacher explains, demos, then listens and critiques. Then I go home and practice, wanting to show him what I’ve accomplished the next week. It’s a great motivator. I can get caught up in the lust for great gear like anybody; it’s why I love your short history videos. But putting my money and time in with even my modest set up gives a better return by far.
At first lessons were intimidating. Once I settled in with a good instructor I actually look forward to it. He also introduced me to music I hadn't given a chance and had some preconceived notions about. I have now opened my mind to new types of music. Lessons with an instructor you click with is well worth the money. As a side note, I played a little in my 20s but life and lack of discipline got in the way. I'm now in my 50s and it has become a passion. You're never too old!
Ditto - only now I am in my late 60s preparing for retirement and thinking that part of the plan is to dive in the deep end with my guitar playing/learning. They say making music, especially with others, is one of the best ways to keep dementia at bay.
Great story.Im addicted to Ricks channel .After many years playing guitar Ricks teaching connects with me and am finally learning basic music theory which has been great.At 64,On July 4,I still love to learn.Not dead yet.Thanks.
My best lessons were being taken to school at gigs by the guys I hired. I learned I may never be able to do things like they can but I can do my thing enough to stay on stage with them saving my own feelings of inadequacy, disgrace and embarrassment for later analysis.
Yes live is best. In my 30 yrs. teaching, nothing beats physically showing the student and helping them in person.. with tab, music off elsewhere in the room. Students will seek and find like the rest of us.. unless sight reading and the structure of classical performing is their goal. The best teacher? That set of headphones, and listening to that song that stirs your emotions
Started clarinet a year ago, no musical background. Got a teacher right away, but he was remote. After about 8 months of that I decided I needed in-person lessons and it is a HUGE improvement over remote lessons. He's always eager to help me learn new stuff, and he seemed excited that I knew exactly what I wanted to accomplish and what kind of music I was into. There's two things that are critical for me when it comes to lessons, one is that I am held accountable, and get feedback on my work, this is key to cultivating motivation to do the hard stuff, for me anyways. The other thing is a sort of "musical counseling". Most of the time we are working on technique, tone, ear, repertoire, something, from start to finish, but this last time I was feeling discouraged by my most recent challenges, so we ended up talking about half the time. I'm 38, I'm not going to school for this, I don't have anyone in my life going through this challenge with me right now, so sometimes it's a bit overwhelming. To have a professional to share my experience with is invaluable. He left me with this nugget as I was leaving on Tuesday: "Try not to get discouraged, it kicked my ass too"
I find that taking my acoustic guitar with me to work (play at lunch) and writing out goals for the week really helped me improve in 2021. I’ve got a MIA strat, helix, and a vox ac15 + a Taylor 214 so I have no desires for any other piece of gear. I love it.
I think the last reason you gave (paying for the lesson motivates you to practice) is probably the big one. I'm pretty convinced that beyond the basic knowledge of whatever a player is learning (blues, jazz for instance) the big thing is taking the time to woodshed what you already know. This is what's keeping us all from realizing our guitar dreams. I already know so much that I could be practicing.
It's great that you and Rick go back so far! BTW, Upstate-Rural Boy, I've been in Oneida County since 2005, Columbia County from 1994 to 2005 -- although I no longer consider Columbia County to be upstate. More like the North Bronx. Anyhow, good air and water where I live.
Great Rick Beato story in this one... excellent. I quit lessons at 13 years old, after 4 boring weeks of shit I didn't want to play or even learn... thanks for this. Oh, ya... and the lack of 'listening' today comment... perfect, I agree.
Great advice. I’m 61 and I’ve played since I was 10, but I’m no where near where I wish I was, or even “should be” based on the amount of time I’ve put in. The old 10,000 hour concept comes to mind. Unfortunately just putting in those hours without a good instructor constantly challenging you to stretch your abilities, doesn’t mean you’re a skilled player. Thru the years, I tried three different real “guitar teachers.” While they were all good players, none of them possessed the skills needed to teach others. Like with anything, possessing the skills to do, doesn’t automatically mean you can effectively teach others what you know.
Well said Keith! So valuable to have the live interaction. Starting to wonder what else technology has begun to erode because of the way people do everything online. So many young guitarists play perfectly but rarely do I here that they feel what I hear them playing. Like your approach man!
Thank you! I found both Rick Beato and you today! I learned to play bass by ear a few decades ago messing with my brother's Fender Precision when he went to 6 strings. I loved picking out bass lines in songs, finding the patterns and then practicing until I could keep up with the song. Eventually my nephew came along and wanted to learn bass so it went back to their house. I missed it but buying my own gear wasn't priority at the time. Lately I've been singing harmony and wanting to play bass again. I want to take some lessons before I buy anything, to make sure I'm really into playing and if so, get some guidance about what to buy. I thought this plan was backwards and I should get the bass first but now you've made me feel like a genius! There's a good local teacher with basses I can use for lessons. Thanks again! Looking forward to more here.
Great video! I've been teaching guitar for 15 years, and you're spot on. My own playing abilities stem from all of the great teachers I've had over the years. You take pieces from different players' perspectives and strengths, and start to form your own voice on the instrument. I still take the occasional lesson.
I appreciate your insight, and I love the humility when guys as capable as Mark Knopfler recognize that they can still have room to grow musically. I had to move from Indianapolis where I had a fantastic teacher to a place in Florida without teachers nearby. I am a decent player I suppose, but I wish I could continue with him because he was the 3 things you say a teacher should have. I have not liked every Beato video I have seen, but I understand how he is talented and smart, it’s great you had such a knowledgeable guy to help you grow. Yep, we can all do with a good teacher from time to time. Thanks for this video.
I used to work on my summer vacations at a jazz summer event at my birthplace Cascais in Portugal. We had some great players here. Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Sara Vaughan, BB King, Roland Kirk, Stéphane Grappelli, Thelounious Monk, Lionel Hampton, Barney Kessel. All these guys had short hair and were old....spotting a jazz player with glam rock hair was new to me...
Your channel is really great. I could't agree more with your philosophy about minimalistic gear and more of a focus on playing. All I used for years as a kid was an old beat-up Stratocaster, 23 watt old Magnatone amp and a RAT pedal. I miss those days.
I recently discovered Rick Beato, and what a great find, his explanations of "what makes this song great " are invaluable if your interested in discecting these things in search of what makes them tick, or if you are just an aspiring muso studying a particular song or instrumental part, he is accomplished on quite a few instruments and has an easygoing nature, a student of mine comented "that Beato guy sounds just like you" I was very, very flatered, he didn't realise just how in awe of Rick I really am, thanks Rick, your insights are priceless. Guitar Dave.
I don't think I ever stopped teaching myself but this is an insightful idea. I noticed every time I tutor someone new I learn more about my own understanding. It's one thing to know something but understanding truly comes from explaining it to another person who is a newbie.
Keith, Hello from Paris. During confinement I stumbled upon your site and videos while preparing dinner - the video on the Jazzmaster. At any rate, I have found your videos to be really innovative and inspiring. i have been thinking a great deal about my collection (similar in size to yours then) and what really mattered to me for my guitar playing. I have been taking guitar lessons for more than twenty years. While simply a hobby i have enjoyed it immensely. You are correct in my view, lessons are important and spending years with the same one 1:1 with a great teacher makes all the difference in the world. For me, the idea about "Harmonic Data" is a subject i could think about for days on end. Please keep it up. I am happy to be a member of the 5 Watt World - so thanks for creating it. BTW, I bought a T-shirt for me... but also for my teacher! Thanks for hard work you put into these videos. 5 out of 5!
Great idea.Knopfler understands that you don't always know what you don't know and some outside input from a good teacher can be a real eye opener.Learning is something even the best players can benefit from.
Keith, I love your videos! Not only are they extremely informative, they are also highly inspirational. I always feel reinvigorated after watching one of your videos. You just made me feel like going out and taking lessons again. God knows I could certainly use some.
Yeah today I watched Miles on Netflix,paused it and picked up the fretless bass. Later watched Rick B. w Tosin Abasi playing and picked up my fretted bass. Inspired again. If they had been in the room......, Together. Lessons from great teachers were so helpful in my college days. That objectivity from someone who was a master cellist or violinist could be crushing, but motivational. Music is such a beautiful thing. Lesson time.
Awesome to see you still have those notes from back then. I still have my hand written lesson sheets from my brief period with a guitar teacher in 1995
Great video, Keith. Great teachers are so rare and valuable. And yes, we should all keep taking lessons, and have the accountability of an actual in-person teacher that we have to report to at our next lesson. Zac
firstly, 45 years? that's dedication/love right there. I'm coming up on 4 minus a few years as a kid, and that's being charitable given some of the breaks Ive taken along the way. shows in my playing though. secondly, lessons are good, but finding a good teacher is HARD. the listening thing is the nail on the head. guitar and other creative endeavors have this problem 10-fold; the person on the other side simply lacks the ability to listen to what you are doing at a deep enough level to actually understand what you are trying to do, and help you bridge the gap between those two things. Im not willing to pay someone to teach me a song. I can learn that myself if I care to. I am willing to pay someone to teach me stuff to beef up my fundamentals like timing, understanding key, how things are in the hard world of professional music. but what I always wanted was something more. by way of analogy, I used to be BIG into photography. did the whole b&w film thing, with heavy post-processing manipulation. my favorite is Jean-loup Sieff. I remember on a forum once posting some of my pictures which had the same dark blacks and bright whites. no one got it except one pro photog who sent me a message saying I was off to a good start and to keep at it. everyone else blasted me. most of them didnt have very good photos themselves, at least to my taste. I guess in the end you are just another person to most teachers. and the one guy who ever did that for me taught me more in 3 lessons than all the other guitar teachers I have ever had combined. the best part is he kept apologizing because he didnt think he was teaching me anything.
@@fivewattworld My acoustic duo partner, Mark Goldenberg (Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt...) who also studied with Ted Green for a decade -and is in my opinion one of the best players around- told me two days day that he loves that book. So I'm sold. I didn't know who Rick Beato was until last week, and now I already feel my universe expanding... Life is Grand.
i started taking lessons again 18 years into being a guitarist. it changed everything for me. years of stagnation wiped out by this. it changed my playing
Right on! I've played guitar for 30 years butI never had a lesson in my life until last week, when I started piano lessons. Even though it's a different instrument I think it'll help my playing a lot.
About active listening which is a good point...It’s been said that we were given two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak, although that assumes most of us are lucky enough to have been born with the aforementioned anatomy and barring any misfortune after that. On the other hand, no one wants a teacher to stare back at you like a frog or a psychotherapist who answers every question by saying “what do you think”. In other words listening, I suppose as in anything else, can be over done and a happy balance should be struck. I do realize of course that I am outputting a lot right now.
This hit really close to home. I never took any kind of guitar lessons. Most everything I know I learned from playing in garage or pick up bands in high school and in college. Then I pretty much stopped playing for 25+ years while I worked at being an adult (software engineer, husband, dad, etc). In the last few years I’ve started playing again, and, in between kicking myself for ever stopping, I’ve been going the online lesson route trying to get back up to speed and filling in gaps. Finding a local teacher has been difficult, as most seem geared toward kids just starting out, or toward musicians way beyond my ability, or they are just kids, themselves. It’s very difficult to find a “teacher” who knows how to teach. So for now I’ll keep talking to a nonresponsive screen, but keep looking.
I am in the process of reteaching myself due to a stroke! I wasn't a fantastic player but i was a high intermediate player! Don't get me wrong, i thank GOD I am not as bad as others who suffered this debilitating disease! My phone has Guitar Tricks built and i haven't used the trial offer because I need the kind of teaching that is illustrated in this article. I still remember the block walls that i faced then.I can't get the lesson and trust i have been there and done that. Maybe some of the anxiety I have will decrease from this lesson. But " Really" Rick was your final salvation?
I have had 4 teachers the first was a Nun in the 4th grade who taught a group lesson, we learned a few chords but it was a good start. the 2nd teacher used Mel Bay books and taught me how to read music, simple stuff but nonetheless it was reading music and I made it thru 4 or the 6 Mel Bay books. I was in 7th grade at the time and found the songs in the books of no interest. the 3rd teacher was a hot shot guitar player who played in a local band and could really play and he had a great ear I would go in for a 30 min lesson and he would show me how to play a song that I brought in but other than that taught me nothing and 50% of the time we just sat and talked. the 4th Teacher was the best after 20 years of playing someone finally taught me the minor pentatonic scale. It only took 20 years to find it. lol he would also show me how to play songs and would write it out in tab . Finding the right teacher is so so important and just trying to watch YT videos will not cut it for all the obvious reasons but also most importantly YT videos don't follow a program you really really need a program a game plan a starting point and ending point . Just my two cents . Peace !
I took classical lessons for 10 years. I didn't start until my late 40's. It's harder as an adult but worth it. I made a deal with myself that as long as I could pay for my lessons through gigging then I wouldn't worry about the cost which was significant. I would have $30,000 in retirement had I forgone lessons. I had to stop due to an illness, but I kept playing, since I had learned how to learn. I'm a much better player than I would have been. Hopefully I will have another 10 years worth of gigs to make back that 30 grand. If not, it was all worth it.
Hey Keith, your short videos are more informative and interesting than ones over an hour or more! We are around the same age and I have just recently rekindled my love for the guitar! My reward for many years in Corporate America!!! And of course a huge shoutout to Mr. Beato!!!
Wow. I've seen this but somehow missed all of this info every other time. I've seen people ask how you & Rick met. Now I can tell them to watch the vid! 👍
I couldn't agree more. I just subscribed to this channel recently, and so far I think this guy gives the best straightforward advice of anyone on RUclips. I've been fiddling around with guitars since 1965, which makes me an oldtimer. I've seen a lot of things in my days. That is why I really appreciate it when someone is willing to share their expertise in a thoughtful and truthful manner.
@@fivewattworld I was once fortunate enough to live in Arizona, where I developed a great appreciation for Native American culture. The American Bison, or Tatanka, as it is known by the indigenous people of our country, became my spiritual animal guide. Thus, I adopted the moniker Buffalo Lodge. The bison has always been revered by the Plains Indians because it provides everything that is essential for their survival. Food, clothing, shelter, tools, utensils, and weapons were all fashioned out of the remains of the buffalo. Nothing was wasted or discarded. To Native Americans, Tatanka is a sacred being. It is life itself. When European settlers set out to eradicate the native tribes, they employed the barbaric tactics of slaughtering untold millions of buffalo. To this day this remains an indelible stain upon the history of the United States.
@@Walks-With-Pride I always thought that Tatanka was a Souix word. Is it shared among the plains indians? Thanks for answering. When I was in college I read "Black Elk Speaks". I was working in a box factory for the summer so I'd often be on the eleven to seven shift, sitting outside in the middle of the night on my "lunch" break, reading that book. I remarried three years ago and now have a 13 year old son. I read "Black Elk Speaks" aloud to him and his mother and he was enrapt by the stories, the imagery and the language. I'd hoped it was something like this. That's excellent. Have you read Jim Harrison? "Dalva"? Others? He does as good a job as any writer, beside Peter Mathieson maybe, of writing about native peoples in the context of a novel. Glad you're here on the channel. I'm going to do a video about how "You tube" is the right name at all for me. It should be "We Tube". Great community. Best, Keith
@@fivewattworld The origins of the word Tatanka may be Sioux. I'm not sure on that point. But I know that the term is shared by all the indigenous tribes that hunted bison on the Great Plains and beyond. Even the Blackfeet and other tribes in Canada use the word Tatanka. As for the book, no I haven't read that one. Thanks for your interest!
Im so happy I found your content. 45 yrs play daily no lessons. I liked what you said about learning a specific something. Thanks lessons have been a block for me.
Welcome to five watt world John. Yeah, I've been lucky to have some great teachers but of course I didn't feature the bad ones. The main thing is to find someone that will listen and honestly, I think you can tell that either on the phone or standing in the store talking about taking the lesson with the teacher. I always think "don't sell me, I figure you know more than me, just listen to what I want." Which is of course the real secret to great sales people. Take a couple. Admit what you don't know. Say it out loud. It feels good. Heck, it's just guitar. Thanks for watching. Keith
I go in and out of lessons, I've done yoga for 25 years and take a college course outside of my focus from time to time. It keeps the brain pliable and presents a vocabulary
I've played guitar for 25 years and still utilize lessons on youtube I ask and talk with others about how they play or how they did something, this is pretty effective. This serves as refresher courses and also seeing a new technique I didn't use before. I also still run through certain phrases at beginning speed regardless of how fast I can play it, this helps not get too sloppy and the clarity is much better. Over the years I have gotten better and better. Where I realized I was actually good is when I started writing music that people commented on it sounding good and were surprised I wrote it. I play more original work now and it is very rare I play a song by someone else unless I already know it or it was a particularly good song. Honestly classical helped the most (the traditional classical not neo classical) and it helped when I went to play some neo classical.
I always had a suspicion Rick Beato is a gifted teacher. He transmits and breaks down and makes digestable some heavy shit, all done through a screen! I can't imagine how powerful he is teaching in person
Won't say that RIck has best technique in the world, but his understanding of music and ability to hear and recognize every nuance of sometimes extremely complicated parts is just stellar.
I have been playing guitar for about 53 years now seldomly do I miss any days just every now and then. I find that with all the experience and time that I've put in that there's always something new to learn somewhere somehow if nothing more than little nuances
I know I’m not alone in this common struggle. Your video essays are right on the mark! Finding the right teacher is critical. Five keys to mastering anything: find the thing that’s electrifying to you, imagine where you want to go, find a good teacher, do it everyday, always push your boundaries of what you know.
Great video Keith. You've articulated very accurately and succinctly what I've been telling my students for years (mostly the ones who come back after giving 'learning' from RUclips a try. Thanks.
Dead right about this! Been playing since 1979 and took tons of lessons (not learning much) in the mid-80s but I can remember every single thing I've learned in the spot lessons with select teachers in the last 5 years or so.
Thanks a lot for this. I'm a perpetually beginning guitarist who has problems staying motivated. I only realized now why I had not responded that well to one on one lessons with very accomplished teachers: they never asked what I was interested in or wanted to work on, instead we always worked on what they thought I should work on. I get that within the need to master exercises, but not when you're learning actual pieces. I remember being tortured by "Wonderful Tonight" (a song I loathe) for weeks on end. The only reason I finally got proficient at it was because I hated it so much I just wanted to move on to something else. Now that I'm a bit more confident I would have asked more assertively for something else and had a list of suggestions. Interestingly, my last teacher set the right tone by asking me to make a list of 20 songs I'd like to master and I gave them to him on week two...and we never heard about them again. The key point: listening is important. Great video!
It makes a lot of sense, it is so difficult to make consistent progress. Life is busy and I’m retired. The only consistent time I get to practice and read about music theory is late and I’m tired but I still do it.
wonderfull story from the very beginning - even though I am not in guitars but subscribed just to hear your explanations. Can not judge them, but I like how to tell your story and start telling.
My screen talks to me when I don't take my meds. When I started on guitar I never knew it was going to be a life time of learning to play guitar. But it keeps things interesting and fun. ;)
I feel like I just need somebody to point me in the direction I need to go in, right now I'm kinda scattershot with teaching myself using RUclips, attempting things that are beyond my skill level and accidentally missing things I really should know. A teacher would provide a little structure
Im a self taught guitarist, I learned from books and you tube and playing along to musicians recordings and just generally listening. I would say that if i could afford a teacher I would have one. What a great teacher should do is know the student they have. I'm a person where if you tell me to sit down and just do a scale or technique all day I will loose interest very quickly. But if you give me a song with said scale in there and say this is why you need to learn it, so you can get sounds like that, then it will inspire me to learn it. As important as exercises are i think learning songs and music is what we all play for, its important to not loose sight of that.
You grasp concepts well and from them you draw intelligent conclusions. You've been a joy to watch these last two videos ( the other was the one about gas vs actual playing...guitar shopping vs guitar learning). I've subscribed , and look forward to checking in for new videos.
This is a fantastic video. I am very lucky to have a great teacher but for a long time I had to go without because it is very difficult to find one. The problem is that most guitar teachers are musicians who kind of naturally had a tendency to be musical, hear well, etc. from a very young age. It can be hard for a person to teach something that has always come naturally to them. You end up getting feedback that is useless like "don't over think things", "just let it flow", "let your fingers tell the story"??? There's a lost art of getting inside your students head, seeing things from their point of view and sculpting the lesson plan accordingly. So how do you find a good teacher? That's another good follow up video idea I think. One for which I don't have any good suggestions.
Nice Hypes!! I recognize that handwriting anywhere :) This is a great and insightful video. Thanks man!!
Thanks a Hypes. I thought you might.
So cool man
@@fivewattworld Rick has always been a fountain of information/experience in his videos. After hearing your story, I have a new-found level of respect and appreciation for this man. He's a class act. Thanks for sharing Keith and Kudos to you Rick!!!
Rick, what episode of your channel does Keith appear in? I'd like to see it.
Lucky guy to have you as a teacher Rick. When you speak, I perk up and listen.
I read that when Randy Rhoads was on tour with Ozzie Osbourne he would seek out the best guitar teacher in each town and try to get a lesson to keep learning. The journey doesn't end.
Bliggick He also gave lessons backstage with his Gibson Les Paul and a Pig Nose Amp . No effects . He was enrolled in UCLA for the next quarter in classical guitar theory. What a loss !!!!
He would actually take classical guitar lessons at every chance he could. Sometimes he was even better than the teacher. Probably took guitar lessons too...
Rhoads himself was a guitar teacher, associated with his Mom's music school, and had taught for several years.
Great story I love the one where Randy ends up giving the teacher more of a Lesson but Randy insisted on paying for the Lesson.
Victor Wooten, one of if not the best bass player alive today, does classes & workshops with the best in the business at his place...so he can learn, too. He's a really good dude. I like Victor 👍 There's a vid on here where he explains exactly why he started the 'Victor Wooten Center for Music & Nature'. If I could link it, I would. It's easy to find.
It's called 'Victor Wooten plays and educates at the Reverb booth'. 👍 IIRC, I think Victor even has classes/lessons on Truefire, the guitar courses that Keith uses.
In 2004, after playing for 25 years I decided to take jazz lessons. Found an older guy in my town giving lessons and called him up. Went to his house every Tuesday at 11am. He would have me going through last week's lesson while he took a dump. I'd miss a note and he'd yell "I heard that" from the bathroom...LOL He was great. That structured Tuesday lesson kept me on track and I made big improvements.
Great story, a bit crude but great!
Haha... great story and true to heart!
@@fivewattworld Lol
That's a real maestro....Nothing to prove, or be embarrassed about. He's gonna tell you how it is, even without his pants on.
Wow, John from Cincinnati. That is something I have not thought of in a while. What a weird and delightful show.
I'm self-taught. I've been playing for 25 years with a few breaks in between. In the past year, every time I had the itch to buy a new pedal, I'd instead invest it in my guitar education. I'd buy books or get an online course to open up a new world I hadn't yet explored (like jazz). I even took some lessons from very well known and extremely respected guitarists. The experience was... terribly disappointing. The first guitarist I saw in person because we happen to live in the same city. After my lesson, I thought to myself, "He didn't teach me anything beyond what he's already talked about in RUclips interviews." Then about a month after the lesson, I heard him on a podcast where he said he hates doing in-person lessons and keeps jacking up his prices so that people will say no. I felt shitty after hearing that and he's lost a bit of my respect.
The second lesson I had was over Skype. I was excited because this guitarist is also insanely talented, very well known and respected, etc. But because he's in Nashville and I'm not, it had to be over Skype. That's fine. I signed up for two lessons and in the first, he had me doing something I'd already learned when I was a teenager. But I thought, "Ok, there must be a reason why he's doing this, so I'll just go along with it." After the first lesson, I thought I'd wasted my time, but was hopeful for the next. So, the second lesson comes along (he completely forgot about it so I had to message him a few times to get him on Skype) and it's more of the same. It was "building" on the first lesson, but it was almost the exact same content. We never got to go over the things I wanted to learn about. Instead, he just taught what he wanted to teach.
In the end, I probably would've been happier buying some new pedals or maybe even a NEW GUITAR than paying for those lessons. I did learn a very important lesson, though: An amazing and knowledgeable and famous guitarist doesn't make an amazing teacher, and great teachers are unfortunately hard to find.
I think a teacher who you really commit to work with weekly, or bi weekly, in person, can be a real game changer. Or not. Depends on the quality.
I hear ya. I recently took a lesson from a well known guitarist that sounds similar to your experience. It was very expensive. But I figured what the hell, I had some xtra cash so since I loved the guys playing and it will be a learning experience in a different way. It sucked. He taught me a couple useful things but nothing I wasn’t already kind of working on. The bad part was that he was seemingly in a nasty mood like he didn’t want to be there and literally yelled at me a few times because I guess I didn’t “snap to” like I was in Boot Camp or something. Now it’s been a rough couple years for me,my house burned down, I had some health issues etc. so maybe I was overly sensitive or something but it was a horrible experience for me. We finished the lesson and later he actually apologized for “yelling” at me. But I’m too old for that shit. I said it’s fine and thanks. But that’s it , I’m done with him,can’t even listen to his music anymore. There are too many great,respectful teachers out there to waste time on some bitter neurotic that wishes he were somewhere else. When u said your man was raising his price so people wouldn’t call him anymore it piqued my curiosity. Anyway,sorry for the rant but it still pisses me off when I’m reminded of it.
Keith, I’m a 62 year old beginner, starting again after a 45 year break. My arsenal is a Squier Affinity Strat and an entry level Fender practice amp. Where I spend my money is for weekly lessons. My teacher explains, demos, then listens and critiques. Then I go home and practice, wanting to show him what I’ve accomplished the next week. It’s a great motivator. I can get caught up in the lust for great gear like anybody; it’s why I love your short history videos. But putting my money and time in with even my modest set up gives a better return by far.
At first lessons were intimidating. Once I settled in with a good instructor I actually look forward to it. He also introduced me to music I hadn't given a chance and had some preconceived notions about. I have now opened my mind to new types of music. Lessons with an instructor you click with is well worth the money. As a side note, I played a little in my 20s but life and lack of discipline got in the way. I'm now in my 50s and it has become a passion. You're never too old!
Ditto - only now I am in my late 60s preparing for retirement and thinking that part of the plan is to dive in the deep end with my guitar playing/learning. They say making music, especially with others, is one of the best ways to keep dementia at bay.
Great story.Im addicted to Ricks channel .After many years playing guitar Ricks teaching connects with me and am finally learning basic music theory which has been great.At 64,On July 4,I still love to learn.Not dead yet.Thanks.
This is so true and really on point about why you should take real lessons!
Jens! Bedankt! Honored that you caught this. I am a big fan of your channel Jens.
@@fivewattworld Thank you! It's a great video, I will check out some of your other stuff :)
My best lessons were being taken to school at gigs by the guys I hired. I learned I may never be able to do things like they can but I can do my thing enough to stay on stage with them saving my own feelings of inadequacy, disgrace and embarrassment for later analysis.
Don't lose your passion, never stop learning. Be child like, not childish. Stay inquisitive, never lose curiosity. 🙏
Yes live is best. In my 30 yrs. teaching, nothing beats physically showing the student and helping them in person.. with tab, music off elsewhere in the room. Students will seek and find like the rest of us.. unless sight reading and the structure of classical performing is their goal.
The best teacher? That set of headphones, and listening to that song that stirs your emotions
Started clarinet a year ago, no musical background. Got a teacher right away, but he was remote. After about 8 months of that I decided I needed in-person lessons and it is a HUGE improvement over remote lessons. He's always eager to help me learn new stuff, and he seemed excited that I knew exactly what I wanted to accomplish and what kind of music I was into.
There's two things that are critical for me when it comes to lessons, one is that I am held accountable, and get feedback on my work, this is key to cultivating motivation to do the hard stuff, for me anyways. The other thing is a sort of "musical counseling". Most of the time we are working on technique, tone, ear, repertoire, something, from start to finish, but this last time I was feeling discouraged by my most recent challenges, so we ended up talking about half the time. I'm 38, I'm not going to school for this, I don't have anyone in my life going through this challenge with me right now, so sometimes it's a bit overwhelming. To have a professional to share my experience with is invaluable.
He left me with this nugget as I was leaving on Tuesday: "Try not to get discouraged, it kicked my ass too"
I find that taking my acoustic guitar with me to work (play at lunch) and writing out goals for the week really helped me improve in 2021. I’ve got a MIA strat, helix, and a vox ac15 + a Taylor 214 so I have no desires for any other piece of gear. I love it.
A good teacher will always listen, and help you learn more on your own, whatever it may be.
I think the last reason you gave (paying for the lesson motivates you to practice) is probably the big one. I'm pretty convinced that beyond the basic knowledge of whatever a player is learning (blues, jazz for instance) the big thing is taking the time to woodshed what you already know. This is what's keeping us all from realizing our guitar dreams. I already know so much that I could be practicing.
It's great that you and Rick go back so far! BTW, Upstate-Rural Boy, I've been in Oneida County since 2005, Columbia County from 1994 to 2005 -- although I no longer consider Columbia County to be upstate. More like the North Bronx. Anyhow, good air and water where I live.
Rick Beato looking like every 70s Italian soccer player
My first visit to one of Keith's earlier videos. I like the message and I especially like how he wrapped it up. Such an excellent channel.
Thanks Anthony
Great Rick Beato story in this one... excellent. I quit lessons at 13 years old, after 4 boring weeks of shit I didn't want to play or even learn... thanks for this. Oh, ya... and the lack of 'listening' today comment... perfect, I agree.
Great advice. I’m 61 and I’ve played since I was 10, but I’m no where near where I wish I was, or even “should be” based on the amount of time I’ve put in. The old 10,000 hour concept comes to mind. Unfortunately just putting in those hours without a good instructor constantly challenging you to stretch your abilities, doesn’t mean you’re a skilled player.
Thru the years, I tried three different real “guitar teachers.” While they were all good players, none of them possessed the skills needed to teach others. Like with anything, possessing the skills to do, doesn’t automatically mean you can effectively teach others what you know.
Well said Keith! So valuable to have the live interaction. Starting to wonder what else technology has begun to erode because of the way people do everything online. So many young guitarists play perfectly but rarely do I here that they feel what I hear them playing. Like your approach man!
Thank you! I found both Rick Beato and you today! I learned to play bass by ear a few decades ago messing with my brother's Fender Precision when he went to 6 strings. I loved picking out bass lines in songs, finding the patterns and then practicing until I could keep up with the song. Eventually my nephew came along and wanted to learn bass so it went back to their house. I missed it but buying my own gear wasn't priority at the time. Lately I've been singing harmony and wanting to play bass again. I want to take some lessons before I buy anything, to make sure I'm really into playing and if so, get some guidance about what to buy. I thought this plan was backwards and I should get the bass first but now you've made me feel like a genius! There's a good local teacher with basses I can use for lessons. Thanks again! Looking forward to more here.
Great video! I've been teaching guitar for 15 years, and you're spot on. My own playing abilities stem from all of the great teachers I've had over the years. You take pieces from different players' perspectives and strengths, and start to form your own voice on the instrument. I still take the occasional lesson.
I appreciate your insight, and I love the humility when guys as capable as Mark Knopfler recognize that they can still have room to grow musically. I had to move from Indianapolis where I had a fantastic teacher to a place in Florida without teachers nearby. I am a decent player I suppose, but I wish I could continue with him because he was the 3 things you say a teacher should have. I have not liked every Beato video I have seen, but I understand how he is talented and smart, it’s great you had such a knowledgeable guy to help you grow. Yep, we can all do with a good teacher from time to time. Thanks for this video.
My Funny Valentine.
You always present a ‘grounding’ persoective. Important stuff! Thank you.
Now, everytime I watch a Beato video, that hair will be on my mind...
What the hair wasn’t the image that stuck already?
I used to work on my summer vacations at a jazz summer event at my birthplace Cascais in Portugal. We had some great players here. Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Sara Vaughan, BB King, Roland Kirk, Stéphane Grappelli, Thelounious Monk, Lionel Hampton, Barney Kessel. All these guys had short hair and were old....spotting a jazz player with glam rock hair was new to me...
mark is a absolute master player and very humble.
Your videos are real game changer for my development as a guitar player. Thank you for that :)
Your channel is really great. I could't agree more with your philosophy about minimalistic gear and more of a focus on playing. All I used for years as a kid was an old beat-up Stratocaster, 23 watt old Magnatone amp and a RAT pedal. I miss those days.
I recently discovered Rick Beato, and what a great find, his explanations of "what makes this song great " are invaluable if your interested in discecting these things in search of what makes them tick, or if you are just an aspiring muso studying a particular song or instrumental part, he is accomplished on quite a few instruments and has an easygoing nature, a student of mine comented "that Beato guy sounds just like you" I was very, very flatered, he didn't realise just how in awe of Rick I really am, thanks Rick, your insights are priceless. Guitar Dave.
I don't think I ever stopped teaching myself but this is an insightful idea. I noticed every time I tutor someone new I learn more about my own understanding. It's one thing to know something but understanding truly comes from explaining it to another person who is a newbie.
Hi Keith, this was a fantastic video. Yes listening is a great skill. I look forward to watching more of your video’s.
Keith, Hello from Paris. During confinement I stumbled upon your site and videos while preparing dinner - the video on the Jazzmaster. At any rate, I have found your videos to be really innovative and inspiring. i have been thinking a great deal about my collection (similar in size to yours then) and what really mattered to me for my guitar playing. I have been taking guitar lessons for more than twenty years. While simply a hobby i have enjoyed it immensely. You are correct in my view, lessons are important and spending years with the same one 1:1 with a great teacher makes all the difference in the world. For me, the idea about "Harmonic Data" is a subject i could think about for days on end. Please keep it up. I am happy to be a member of the 5 Watt World - so thanks for creating it. BTW, I bought a T-shirt for me... but also for my teacher! Thanks for hard work you put into these videos. 5 out of 5!
Wow, thanks for the kind words and the support David!
Great idea.Knopfler understands that you don't always know what you don't know and some outside input from a good teacher can be a real eye opener.Learning is something even the best players can benefit from.
Keith, I love your videos! Not only are they extremely informative, they are also highly inspirational. I always feel reinvigorated after watching one of your videos. You just made me feel like going out and taking lessons again. God knows I could certainly use some.
Yeah today I watched Miles on Netflix,paused it and picked up the fretless bass. Later watched Rick B. w Tosin Abasi playing and picked up my fretted bass. Inspired again.
If they had been in the room......,
Together.
Lessons from great teachers were so helpful in my college days.
That objectivity from someone who was a master cellist or violinist could be crushing, but motivational.
Music is such a beautiful thing.
Lesson time.
Your videos are of the highest quality I’ve seen on RUclips yet. Absolutely superb. Thanks for posting
Thanks Barry!
Glad I found you, Keith. Thanks
Very Cool! What gets measured gets done! Thank you!
Awesome to see you still have those notes from back then. I still have my hand written lesson sheets from my brief period with a guitar teacher in 1995
I'm very thankful for Rick's RUclips lessons.
Great video, Keith. Great teachers are so rare and valuable. And yes, we should all keep taking lessons, and have the accountability of an actual in-person teacher that we have to report to at our next lesson. Zac
Amen brother. I am checking out a potential teacher in our new town next week. Always more to learn.
firstly, 45 years? that's dedication/love right there. I'm coming up on 4 minus a few years as a kid, and that's being charitable given some of the breaks Ive taken along the way. shows in my playing though.
secondly, lessons are good, but finding a good teacher is HARD. the listening thing is the nail on the head. guitar and other creative endeavors have this problem 10-fold; the person on the other side simply lacks the ability to listen to what you are doing at a deep enough level to actually understand what you are trying to do, and help you bridge the gap between those two things.
Im not willing to pay someone to teach me a song. I can learn that myself if I care to.
I am willing to pay someone to teach me stuff to beef up my fundamentals like timing, understanding key, how things are in the hard world of professional music.
but what I always wanted was something more.
by way of analogy, I used to be BIG into photography. did the whole b&w film thing, with heavy post-processing manipulation. my favorite is Jean-loup Sieff. I remember on a forum once posting some of my pictures which had the same dark blacks and bright whites. no one got it except one pro photog who sent me a message saying I was off to a good start and to keep at it. everyone else blasted me. most of them didnt have very good photos themselves, at least to my taste.
I guess in the end you are just another person to most teachers.
and the one guy who ever did that for me taught me more in 3 lessons than all the other guitar teachers I have ever had combined. the best part is he kept apologizing because he didnt think he was teaching me anything.
Thanks TCM! Good to see you up and around(ish)!
Amen. I totally agree with this. Thanks for what you do.
Thanks Eric! I’m still working on learning the stuff in the Beato Book. I imagine I always will be.
@@fivewattworld My acoustic duo partner, Mark Goldenberg (Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt...) who also studied with Ted Green for a decade -and is in my opinion one of the best players around- told me two days day that he loves that book. So I'm sold. I didn't know who Rick Beato was until last week, and now I already feel my universe expanding... Life is Grand.
I’m a bit out of commission for a couple days and these videos have been a blessing. Thanks and Nicely done on this one.
i started taking lessons again 18 years into being a guitarist. it changed everything for me. years of stagnation wiped out by this. it changed my playing
Right on! I've played guitar for 30 years butI never had a lesson in my life until last week, when I started piano lessons. Even though it's a different instrument I think it'll help my playing a lot.
Love Ya Keith, you always provide new insight!! Thank you!
About active listening which is a good point...It’s been said that we were given two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak, although that assumes most of us are lucky enough to have been born with the aforementioned anatomy and barring any misfortune after that. On the other hand, no one wants a teacher to stare back at you like a frog or a psychotherapist who answers every question by saying “what do you think”. In other words listening, I suppose as in anything else, can be over done and a happy balance should be struck. I do realize of course that I am outputting a lot right now.
Thank you sir for the insight. Too many of us don't use teachers to help advance our skill set.
This hit really close to home. I never took any kind of guitar lessons. Most everything I know I learned from playing in garage or pick up bands in high school and in college. Then I pretty much stopped playing for 25+ years while I worked at being an adult (software engineer, husband, dad, etc). In the last few years I’ve started playing again, and, in between kicking myself for ever stopping, I’ve been going the online lesson route trying to get back up to speed and filling in gaps. Finding a local teacher has been difficult, as most seem geared toward kids just starting out, or toward musicians way beyond my ability, or they are just kids, themselves. It’s very difficult to find a “teacher” who knows how to teach. So for now I’ll keep talking to a nonresponsive screen, but keep looking.
I am in the process of reteaching myself due to a stroke! I wasn't a fantastic player but i was a high intermediate player! Don't get me wrong, i thank GOD I am not as bad as others who suffered this debilitating disease! My phone has Guitar Tricks built and i haven't used the trial offer because I need the kind of teaching that is illustrated in this article. I still remember the block walls that i faced then.I can't get the lesson and trust i have been there and done that. Maybe some of the anxiety I have will decrease from this lesson. But " Really" Rick was your final salvation?
Artistworks had a pretty good idea with the Video Exchanges. But you are right about being in the same room.
Keep doing what you’re doing, Keith! It really is refreshing to hear a perspective that isn’t buy, buy, buy or sell, sell, sell.
I have had 4 teachers the first was a Nun in the 4th grade who taught a group lesson, we learned a few chords but it was a good start. the 2nd teacher used Mel Bay books and taught me how to read music, simple stuff but nonetheless it was reading music and I made it thru 4 or the 6 Mel Bay books. I was in 7th grade at the time and found the songs in the books of no interest. the 3rd teacher was a hot shot guitar player who played in a local band and could really play and he had a great ear I would go in for a 30 min lesson and he would show me how to play a song that I brought in but other than that taught me nothing and 50% of the time we just sat and talked. the 4th Teacher was the best after 20 years of playing someone finally taught me the minor pentatonic scale. It only took 20 years to find it. lol he would also show me how to play songs and would write it out in tab . Finding the right teacher is so so important and just trying to watch YT videos will not cut it for all the obvious reasons but also most importantly YT videos don't follow a program you really really need a program a game plan a starting point and ending point . Just my two cents . Peace !
I took classical lessons for 10 years. I didn't start until my late 40's. It's harder as an adult but worth it. I made a deal with myself that as long as I could pay for my lessons through gigging then I wouldn't worry about the cost which was significant. I would have $30,000 in retirement had I forgone lessons. I had to stop due to an illness, but I kept playing, since I had learned how to learn. I'm a much better player than I would have been. Hopefully I will have another 10 years worth of gigs to make back that 30 grand. If not, it was all worth it.
Amen brother
I've watched a few of your short history videos recently. But this is the one. Great insights. I'm a subscriber & fan now. Thanks Keith.
Welcome to five watt world Phinex!
Damn, Rick had a glorious mane back then.
I have watched Rick’s videos on RUclips for some time and didn’t realize he was the same person I took lessons with in ‘87 until I saw this video.
Ha!
Your videos are amazing, insightful and full of practical wisdom. Thank you for your extensive research and for putting all this together. Rock on!
Thanks for watching Juan.
Hey Keith, your short videos are more informative and interesting than ones over an hour or more! We are around the same age and I have just recently rekindled my love for the guitar! My reward for many years in Corporate America!!! And of course a huge shoutout to Mr. Beato!!!
Cool Geoff. Are you taking some lessons?
Yes!! One can always learn!
This is the thing that every guitar player need to acknowledge. Thank you mister.
Wow. I've seen this but somehow missed all of this info every other time. I've seen people ask how you & Rick met. Now I can tell them to watch the vid! 👍
I couldn't agree more. I just subscribed to this channel recently, and so far I think this guy gives the best straightforward advice of anyone on RUclips. I've been fiddling around with guitars since 1965, which makes me an oldtimer. I've seen a lot of things in my days. That is why I really appreciate it when someone is willing to share their expertise in a thoughtful and truthful manner.
Thanks Buffalo, very kind. Love your moniker. How’d you decide on that?
@@fivewattworld I was once fortunate enough to live in Arizona, where I developed a great appreciation for Native American culture. The American Bison, or Tatanka, as it is known by the indigenous people of our country, became my spiritual animal guide. Thus, I adopted the moniker Buffalo Lodge. The bison has always been revered by the Plains Indians because it provides everything that is essential for their survival. Food, clothing, shelter, tools, utensils, and weapons were all fashioned out of the remains of the buffalo. Nothing was wasted or discarded. To Native Americans, Tatanka is a sacred being. It is life itself. When European settlers set out to eradicate the native tribes, they employed the barbaric tactics of slaughtering untold millions of buffalo. To this day this remains an indelible stain upon the history of the United States.
@@Walks-With-Pride I always thought that Tatanka was a Souix word. Is it shared among the plains indians? Thanks for answering.
When I was in college I read "Black Elk Speaks". I was working in a box factory for the summer so I'd often be on the eleven to seven shift, sitting outside in the middle of the night on my "lunch" break, reading that book.
I remarried three years ago and now have a 13 year old son. I read "Black Elk Speaks" aloud to him and his mother and he was enrapt by the stories, the imagery and the language.
I'd hoped it was something like this. That's excellent. Have you read Jim Harrison? "Dalva"? Others? He does as good a job as any writer, beside Peter Mathieson maybe, of writing about native peoples in the context of a novel.
Glad you're here on the channel. I'm going to do a video about how "You tube" is the right name at all for me. It should be "We Tube". Great community.
Best, Keith
@@fivewattworld The origins of the word Tatanka may be Sioux. I'm not sure on that point. But I know that the term is shared by all the indigenous tribes that hunted bison on the Great Plains and beyond. Even the Blackfeet and other tribes in Canada use the word Tatanka.
As for the book, no I haven't read that one.
Thanks for your interest!
Im so happy I found your content. 45 yrs play daily no lessons. I liked what you said about learning a specific something. Thanks lessons have been a block for me.
Welcome to five watt world John. Yeah, I've been lucky to have some great teachers but of course I didn't feature the bad ones. The main thing is to find someone that will listen and honestly, I think you can tell that either on the phone or standing in the store talking about taking the lesson with the teacher. I always think "don't sell me, I figure you know more than me, just listen to what I want." Which is of course the real secret to great sales people.
Take a couple. Admit what you don't know. Say it out loud. It feels good. Heck, it's just guitar.
Thanks for watching.
Keith
@@fivewattworld Great advice! Thank you for sharing Keith.
Great video. I had thought to use Insight Timer for the very same purpose. Now I don't feel crazy. Thanks. Love the wisdom and experience here.
Keith’s picture as a young guy is shown much quicker than Rick’s !
Ha! Well I'm the editor after all. :)
I could listen to you talk about guitar all day. New subscriber here!
I go in and out of lessons, I've done yoga for 25 years and take a college course outside of my focus from time to time. It keeps the brain pliable and presents a vocabulary
See Sean Tucker’s video “Iconoclast.” Excellent stuff and excellent approach to living. Thanks for watching Thomas.
I've played guitar for 25 years and still utilize lessons on youtube I ask and talk with others about how they play or how they did something, this is pretty effective. This serves as refresher courses and also seeing a new technique I didn't use before. I also still run through certain phrases at beginning speed regardless of how fast I can play it, this helps not get too sloppy and the clarity is much better.
Over the years I have gotten better and better. Where I realized I was actually good is when I started writing music that people commented on it sounding good and were surprised I wrote it. I play more original work now and it is very rare I play a song by someone else unless I already know it or it was a particularly good song. Honestly classical helped the most (the traditional classical not neo classical) and it helped when I went to play some neo classical.
I really appreciate your videos!!! They all put me in a mindset that is very inspired to play
Sometimes someone says exactly what you need to hear at exactly the right time. Thanks Bruh.
I always had a suspicion Rick Beato is a gifted teacher. He transmits and breaks down and makes digestable some heavy shit, all done through a screen! I can't imagine how powerful he is teaching in person
That’s awesome that you are linked to Rick Beato. The guy is a beast on the guitar. Great channel too
Won't say that RIck has best technique in the world, but his understanding of music and ability to hear and recognize every nuance of sometimes extremely complicated parts is just stellar.
serendipitous ... thank you
Either it’s a small world or I have too much time on my hands to find you snd Rick independently on utube.
Guess I have too much time too. The guitar world is smaller than we think.
Same.
I saw them together. It’s how I ended up here. Maybe I should take a live lesson.
Tks for sharing Keith!
@@fivewattworld where did you get your French? I'm from Montreal Canada
I have been playing guitar for about 53 years now seldomly do I miss any days just every now and then. I find that with all the experience and time that I've put in that there's always something new to learn somewhere somehow if nothing more than little nuances
I know I’m not alone in this common struggle. Your video essays are right on the mark! Finding the right teacher is critical.
Five keys to mastering anything: find the thing that’s electrifying to you, imagine where you want to go, find a good teacher, do it everyday, always push your boundaries of what you know.
Great video Keith. You've articulated very accurately and succinctly what I've been telling my students for years (mostly the ones who come back after giving 'learning' from RUclips a try. Thanks.
Dead right about this! Been playing since 1979 and took tons of lessons (not learning much) in the mid-80s but I can remember every single thing I've learned in the spot lessons with select teachers in the last 5 years or so.
Keith, this is a beautiful video. Thank you so much! 😊🤘🎸
Thanks man
I love this. So important!!!
Great video; solid points--and I imagine that Rick Beato is a fine Teacher.
Thanks a lot for this. I'm a perpetually beginning guitarist who has problems staying motivated. I only realized now why I had not responded that well to one on one lessons with very accomplished teachers: they never asked what I was interested in or wanted to work on, instead we always worked on what they thought I should work on. I get that within the need to master exercises, but not when you're learning actual pieces. I remember being tortured by "Wonderful Tonight" (a song I loathe) for weeks on end. The only reason I finally got proficient at it was because I hated it so much I just wanted to move on to something else. Now that I'm a bit more confident I would have asked more assertively for something else and had a list of suggestions. Interestingly, my last teacher set the right tone by asking me to make a list of 20 songs I'd like to master and I gave them to him on week two...and we never heard about them again.
The key point: listening is important. Great video!
Amen brother
It makes a lot of sense, it is so difficult to make consistent progress. Life is busy and I’m retired. The only consistent time I get to practice and read about music theory is late and I’m tired but I still do it.
Just before bed is the perfect time to practice. I’m actually goi g to make a video about it this year.
What a confluence in one video. Knopfler, Beato, Five Watt World...I'm gonna go practice now.
Yeah, this one was easy to pull together. What to do next?!
Yeah, me too.
wonderfull story from the very beginning - even though I am not in guitars but subscribed just to hear your explanations.
Can not judge them, but I like how to tell your story and start telling.
My screen talks to me when I don't take my meds. When I started on guitar I never knew it was going to be a life time of learning to play guitar. But it keeps things interesting and fun. ;)
I feel like I just need somebody to point me in the direction I need to go in, right now I'm kinda scattershot with teaching myself using RUclips, attempting things that are beyond my skill level and accidentally missing things I really should know. A teacher would provide a little structure
Fantastic! Great insights, and plenty of truth.
Im a self taught guitarist, I learned from books and you tube and playing along to musicians recordings and just generally listening. I would say that if i could afford a teacher I would have one. What a great teacher should do is know the student they have. I'm a person where if you tell me to sit down and just do a scale or technique all day I will loose interest very quickly. But if you give me a song with said scale in there and say this is why you need to learn it, so you can get sounds like that, then it will inspire me to learn it. As important as exercises are i think learning songs and music is what we all play for, its important to not loose sight of that.
You grasp concepts well and from them you draw intelligent conclusions. You've been a joy to watch these last two videos ( the other was the one about gas vs actual playing...guitar shopping vs guitar learning). I've subscribed , and look forward to checking in for new videos.
Welcome aboard Luke!
This is such a great story. Very cool to learn your history with Rick.
This is a fantastic video. I am very lucky to have a great teacher but for a long time I had to go without because it is very difficult to find one. The problem is that most guitar teachers are musicians who kind of naturally had a tendency to be musical, hear well, etc. from a very young age. It can be hard for a person to teach something that has always come naturally to them. You end up getting feedback that is useless like "don't over think things", "just let it flow", "let your fingers tell the story"??? There's a lost art of getting inside your students head, seeing things from their point of view and sculpting the lesson plan accordingly. So how do you find a good teacher? That's another good follow up video idea I think. One for which I don't have any good suggestions.
You, Rick and Chords of Orion are the three I subscribe to. Great job!
Thanks Tau!
There's always something to learn, no one knows it all. This applies to any endeavor . The greats are always searching, not willing to settle.
I love how Rick looks radically different and you .... well, you do not. Ha ha ha. Love all your video's, dude.
I must apologize, I should have started by watching this video... I tend to sort them by "latest".. and I missed this, one of the greatest...